Leg 1 of the Western Conference Championship between Seattle Sounders and the Houston Dynamo ended in a 2-0 win for Seattle on the road at BBVA Compass Stadium on Tuesday. The teams will match up again on Thursday, November 30 (9:30 pm CT | ESPN, ESPN Deportes, WATCH PARTY) for the decisive second leg. Below is a grid showing the scoreline that each team needs to advance to MLS Cup.
How to read the grid: Choose a scoreline and see who advances. The Dynamo must score at least three goals to advance in regulation. If the Dynamo are leading 3-1 at the end of regulation time in the second leg on November 30 (Leg 2), the aggregate score of the series will be 3-3. Houston will advance to MLS Cup on away goals and the series will end without playing extra time (see below for more information on the away goals rule).
A 2-0 win for the Dynamo would send the series to extra time, and penalties if needed, as the teams would be tied both on aggregate and the away goals tiebreaker. Anything less than a two-goal win for Houston would me advancement for Seattle.
Seattle vs. Houston matchup notes:
- Last match at CenturyLink Field: June 4. Seattle won 1-0.
- The Dynamo are 0-6-3 in Seattle all-time.
- The teams have met in a playoff game in Seattle once before, a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the 2009 Western Conference semifinals.
The away goals rule: The away goals rule is a tiebreaking method that is used to determine the winner of a two-legged series, such as the MLS Conference Semifinals and Conference Championships. If two teams are tied on aggregate at the end of regulation time of the second leg, the away goals rule is applied as the first tiebreaker. The winner is the team with the most goals scored away from home.
